How To Save A Life
by Caligula II
Summary: Asuka has been kidnapped, but she starts having feelings for her kidnapper.
1. A Day In Osaka

**AN: Hiya, again. Tis Caligula II, delivering his first ever romantic story. Please review, but don't forget to read first.**

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She is running scared. It is pursuing her closely. It isn't human. Nor man-made. It's power is overwhealming. It has her cornered. She assumes her fighting stance. It assumes its own. It attacks, she blocks. It's a game of reaction now. Who will make the first and last mistake? 

She does. The thing has now floored her. She feels the ground tremble as it approaches. It raises it's huge arm, ready for a final assault. It utters the last sound she will ever hear.

'You see now, I can't be stopped.'

It brings it's massive hand down...

xXxXxXx

Asuka woke with a start. Her pajamas were soaked with sweat, her entire body aching, her brain struggling to comprehend what she just saw.

Slowly she drifted back to reality. She was in her bed, safe in her father's home and the thing she saw was just something out of a bad dream.

She went to her bathroom, which was luckily enough, next door to her bedroom. She carefuly took her pajamas off and stepped in the shower.

Ice cold water poured over her. Asuka loved taking cold showers. They had always made her feel great, even after the worst of nights and most hateful of days. This time however..

As the cold water ran over her bare body, she reflected on the dream. The run, the fight, and that mysterious creature. An unusual chill which had nothing to do with the water ran across her back when she thought of it. It was as though the chill had belonged to someone else.

Asuka never beleived in dreams. She lived in the moment, with no regard for the past or the present. But this dream made her feel different. Like it wasn't a normal dream.

She stepped out of the shower, and gazed at her nude, dripping reflection in the mirror, the dream wandering off to the back of her mind.

Asuka didn't like the way she looked. In all her years, she had never had a boyfriend and she thought that she was too ugly to have one. All her friends were in some sorts of relationships. She alone was... well, alone.

Wrapping herself in a towel, she returned to her room, which looked more like a mini-gym than a girl's personal space. Asuka had adorned her walls with posters of metal bands and scattered around her room were dumbbells and excercising machines, which were tested to their very limits by Asuka's compulsive need to train.

Asuka quickly put on her school uniform and quickly scannedher room for forgotten schoolstuff. Satisfied that there were none, she grabbed her little schoolbag which was propped against the wall and strode towards teh kitchen.

There, her dad was already busying himself making an extremely unusual breakfast. Cooking was his hobby and he was arguably the best chef Asuka had ever known. The only downsize was that he liked experimenting with recipes, each experiment less apealing to Asuka's taste buds than the last.

'Hiya, dad.' said Asuka.

'Hello, Suki-chan. Care for some deep-fried caramels?' asked her dad, while holding up a plate of suspicious-looking lumps. 'Made them myself.'

'No thanks dad. Besides, I don't think human testing is legal.' said Asuka, managing a chuckle.

'Ah, damn. First the cat, now you. Isn't anyone going to try my caramels?' mumbled her dad. Asuka secretly laughed as she came over to him and hugged him.

'You know what, dad?' asked Asuka. 'I think I'll eat out today.'

'Ah, okay.' said her dad, feighning depression. 'Now, be a good girl, no fighting at school, no vigilante buisness and for the last time, your skill as a warrior is not to be squandered on mere bullies.'

'Dad, we've been through this before. Those kids have nobody to protect them.' said Asuka.

'And you have no reason at all to protect them. Bullying is a stage of life we all have to go through.' said her dad as he tapped her on her back. 'Now off to school.' she said as he kissed her on the cheek.

'Bye dad!' she called as she picked up her bike from behind the garden shed in her front yard and rode off towards school.

xXxXxXx

'Stupid idot gym teacher!' mumbled Asuka as she rode her bike through the city, simply to vent some anger.

Her gym teacher gave her detention for beating up two idiots who were picking on a short and realy shy guys. The cowards ran to the nearest teacher the moment Asuka kicked their asses. They made up a sad story of 'evil Suki who like beating up guys' and Asuka ended up in trouble. On top of it, the entire school now thought that she was insane, due to her frequent fistfights.

'What a bunch of sorry whiners.' she said to herself as she made a U-turn and headed home.

As she swerved through the many cars, she got the funniest feeling that she was being watched. She turned to see if anyone was there, but she couldn't see anyone of importance. She shrugged it of as a manifestation of her anger and carried on.

She was riding through some backstreets, when she heard someone scream, as if in trouble. She immediately turned towards the location of the screamer.

'Someone is in trouble.' she said to herself. 'Suki to the rescue.'

The adrenaline in her ears was already unbearable when she reached the place.

There was a small man, covered in blood and lying on the ground. He could have been out cold, but all that blood... Asuka thought that she might be late.

Hovering above him, was a tall, black haired man, dressed in a khaki suit. His back was turned to Asuka.

'What have you done to him, you bastard!?' shouted Asuka.

The man slowly turned to face her.

Asuka had never seen a man like that before. He was obviosly caucasian, though she had never seen anyne look this white. His pale skin stood in stark contrast to his long black hair. His face resembled a white deathmask out of which two, eerily pale blue eyes gazed at her, their lids red and heavy.

She was taken aback. She thought the man was a ghost, until she noticed his clothes.

They were most definitely a uniform of sorts, with a red tie under his khaki jacket and eagle-shaped decorations on his chest. A belt tightened his midsection and huge military boots adorned his long legs.

She looked back at his lifeless face. Those two eyes looked dead, as if there was no soul behind them.

'Who..who are you?' asked Asuka, her voice shaking with adrenaline.

The man did not answer. He simply started walking towards her, as if he was on a stroll through a park.

'Stay back!' she shouted, praying he would listen. She had a bad feeling about touching that palid skin.

The man resumed his steady pace.

'Stop! Now!' shouted Asuka as she assumed her battle stance and cracked her knuckles in hopes of intimidating her opponent.

Nothing but the soft taps of his boots on the pawement below.

Asuka could take the tension no longer. She broke into a run and tried to charge at the man. To her surprise, the man grabbed her and slammed her into a nearby wall.

'Ugh.' grunted Asuka as she dodged a fast punch. The guy was no pushover and he knew it.

She decided that a frontal assault might not be too wise of an idea. Carefully, she aimed a punch at the man's face, which he promptly blocked, but he failed to notice Asuka's foot that made contact with his exposed shin. ASuka then took her oppotunity and unleashed a powerful combo that threw him backwards.

Asuka was surprised to notice the mand did not even grunt in pain as he was hit by her powerful attack. It seemed that he was intent on staying silent.

Slowly, he got to his feet, looking unchanged. Even his breathing was still even.

Although Asuka made every effort to watch the man's every move, his next maneuvre took her completely off guard.

He charged at her in an instant, and sooner than she could think, he had her in a bone-crushing armlock. But it didn't stop there. She felt him trip her as he hooked his leg behind hers. she slammed on the mercilessly hard pawement and he sat on her hip, preventing her from getting up.

Asuka could do nothing as tha man calmly pulled out a hypodermic syringe and sunk it in her neck.

Twitching and trying to punch him didn't help. This guy was a pro. Whatever was in that syringe was already starting to work. The world around her faded out, the man's foggy eyes aimed directly at her own. They will be the last thing she sees...

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**AN: Like this chapter? Please review. This is my first time writing a real romance fic, so advice is appreciated.**


	2. Freezing Desert

**AN: Okay. To anyone who thought of creating a bogus account to insult me, you suck and I'll make you go boom!**

**To all the good people who reviewed, I love you and please stick with me, thanks in advance.**

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Asuka woke up from the drug-induced haze. Her vision was blurred at first, but only at first. As she tried to rub her eyes, she realised they were bound by some sort of shackles. 

'Ugh. Where an I?' she shouted and her voice reverberated around her, as if she were in a metal container. A faint hum could be heard above her.

As her vision cleared, she noticed the green walls of the room where she was held. It appeared that someone had put her on a chair and bound her to it. The faint hum was vaguely familiar.

Security hatches and hooks littered the walls. There was no carpeting on the metal floor and a door was visible just a few feet away. Asuka hoped it led to safety.

She tried to break her restraints but it was no use. Looking at them explained why. They were made of near-indestructible carbon fibres. Asuka doubted that anything short of a H-bomb could break them.

She heard a faint whiff of air next to her. She turned to see... _him._

Her captor was sitting next to her, his pale eyes fixed on her. His face contorted into a lifeless mask which showed no emotion at all.

'You!' Asuka shouted. She had never felt anger like this before. Not even her idiot gym teacher could match the irritability of those dead eyes. The man didn't even flinch. He simply shifted his blood red eyelids as he whiffed again.

'Where are we?!' she demanded as she rattled her chair.

No response.

'What?!' Asuka shouted again. 'Too stupid to talk!?'

Not even a cruel chuckle. The alabaster face remained motionless.

'I asked you a question, jerk!' shrieked Asuka, waving her head.

She noticed absolutely no change on the man's feelingless facade, though his cheecks seemed to sink a little deeper in his skull.

It became clear to her that he wasn't going to react in any way. A minute or so later, she found herself bored to death.

With nothing else to do, she decided amuse herself by looking at the jerk.

His face was scarred, probably by some sort of blade or knife. Several deep gashes ran accross his cheek and forehead. His heavily lidded eyes had dark circles under them, as if he had never grasped the concept of sleeping. His black hair had virtualy no shine about it. Asuka was unpleasantly reminded of Harry Potter Dementors looking at it. That black matted tangle looked dead and rotten, much like everything about this freak. He smelled faintly of acid.

Looking down to his shrunken bust, Asuka could not help being impressed. All the time she's been trying to lose weight, but this guy was so thin, she could barely see him. Even his custom made uniform seemed to hang on his skeletal form.

Asuka was surprised to see his red tie tied tightly even after she fought him. People usualy loosened her ties before fights. She learned that from Lei Wulong last tournament. This guy, though...

'Ever take that off?' she asked him, her voice unusualy soft.

Surptisingly enough, he twtched, as if someone punched him in the chest. His eyes, gleaming for the first time, found her own and stared in indiscretion. Asuka was surprised by such a dramatic answer to such a normal question.

'Dude, take a chill pill.' she recoiled as he stared intently in her eyes. She felt like those sunken orbs were scanning her very soul.

'Why are you staring at me?' she sasked, scared for the first time.

She could swear she saw his eyebrow go slightly up, as if he was nervous.

'I... do I have something on my face?' she asked. The gaze did not falter.

'Okay... ' Asuka paused, thinking of anything she could say to a bad guy who resembled a vampire and was probably mute. 'You have a name or something?'

Before anything else could happen, a massive explosion and the room shook violently, the faint hum dissapearing. The man jumped out of his chair and rushed for the door. When he opened it, Asuka found herself staring at the cockpit of a transport helicopter.

The pilot was franticaly shouting in his radio in a language Asuka had never heard before. For a few moments, nothing seemed to happen, and then..

A massive force grabbed her and forced her hands on a parachute. While she was busy staring at the pilot, her captor managed to get two parachutes and strap one to her. The straps were digging painfully in her shoulders.

Without as much as a second's warning, Asuka felt herself being released from the restraints and pushed through a hatch, her parachute opening and she was falling through ice cold air, a great chute over her. A faint ripping sound was heard and she saw her captor jump out of the chopper himself.

Barely concious at this point, Asuka thought she heard a mighty explosion over her. It didn't matter... she needed to nap.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

When she woke up, she was cold, . .. worse than cold. Freezing. Opening her eyes brought her excrutiating pain as the chilling air pierced them, and breathing itself was a miraculous feat, with her lungs feeling all but frozen.

Around her were trees. Not the small cute trees she was used to, the ones that grew in Osaka suburbs. These were weather beaten old trees that looked more like some sort of demons than actual plants.

'So, I'm in a forest.' she thought.

Slowly, her memory crawled back to her. She remembered being on a helicopter, a faint hum, her pale captor, an explosion and... her heart sank when she thought of it, the pale guy's gaze. She had never seen anyone stare like that.

Looking around her, she saw the barren ground of a small forest clearing. Her parachute lay crumpled on the ground. There was no sign of the pale man, though she was sure thet he jumped out just after her. Perhaps he was caught in the explosion.

Getting up, she decided that she should try to get back to civilziation as soon as humanly possible. Her school uniform was definnetely not made to withstand the cold inferno that surrounded her. A pang in her stomach reminded her that she hadn't eaten since morning.

The sun was long set, but she could see no stars above her head.A massive wall of fog sepparated her from the sky, and conveniently enough, the North Star. Only the faintest trace of moonlight could be seen through the mist.

She could now feel a slight breeze which reminded her, painfully that she is out in the cold, with no winter clothes. If anything, she could hide from the wind in the trees. She picked the spot where the trees were the thinnest, figuring that going in that direction would take her out of the wood.

'Come on Suki.' she said to herself. 'You're a big girl. You have to take care of yourself.'

She had no idea where to go. The trees brushed around her and scratched at her skin and clothes. If only she had her iPod. This entire situation would have been more bearable.

Then, she remembered. She had her backpack in the helicopter, and in it, some leftover snacks, her prefered clothes and her cell and iPod. She could call her dad or the accursed cops to send a rescue team.

'The backpack probably fell off my back in the air.' she said to herself as she rushed back to the forest clearing. 'Can't beleive I'm actualy calling the cops.' Asuka didn't like cops. They were so slow to deliver justice. unliike her who protected the weak and punished the bad.

'I should have my own theme song.' the words ringed in her head. 'Suki-chan, girl of wonder.' the sweet illusions gave her strenght to go through the thick woods.

At the clearing, she found nothing..

xXxXxXxXxXx

She had prowled the forest for hours now. Her body was crushed by cold and fatigue. The sleek blade of cool night air was slowly slicing through her lungs and she could barely keep her eyes open. Her stomach was pounding, desperate for nourishment and her brain was slowly shutting down in the absence of sugar and oxygen.

Delirious, she fell to the ground. Images flashed through her mind. She was four and her father had just brough her his gift for her birthday. A shiny red bike with a big blue bow tied to it.

'Daddy, you know I don't like red.' said Asuka.

'I know..' said her father knowingly. 'But the bike shop only sells red girl bikes.' he continued.

'That's not fair!? Why do boys get all the fun!?' asked Asuka.

'Tell you what, Suki-chan.' said her father. 'Why don't you learn how to be a great fighter so you can convince anyone that you're better than any boy out there?'

Asuka was brought back to the present by the chilling sensation of her bare hands touching the frozen ground. She had to keep going. She knew that if she fell asleep, she would never wake up. She had to get somewhere warm soon..

'Come on.' she edged herself, her lungs screaming as she breathed in another gust of the deadly cold air.

But her muscles were screaming for rest. She fell, her body failing to obey her mind. It seemed that she could hear every nerve in her chilled physique screaming in agony, her every muscle refusing to move another inch. It was much easier to stop fighting. It was much easier to accept the white death that engulfed her.

Asuka closed her eyes, knowing that she will never see the light of day again.

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**AN: Ah well, that's done with. What will happen to our favourite Asuka? Will she freeze to death in the ravages of this merciless desert? All canbe seen in the next exciting (yea, right) chapter of this fic. Review and trigger my creativity, please.**


	3. Breaking the Silence

**AN: Yeah, it's me alright. Thaks for reviewing and do review a lot. It's my first time writing romance ya know.

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Asuka woke up next to a fire. Her frozen body felt rejuvenated at the mere sight of the dancing flames.

She was covered in a blanket that smelled faintly of acid. Much like.. him.

She was on a forest clearing, much different from the one where she landed. She could see two parachutes propped carefouly some distance away from the fire. She was kind of sure that she had her backpackin that pile there. Her captor must have done it.

She shifted, looking around and surely enough, he was on the other side of the fire.

'YOU!' she yelled, her frozen lungs feeling like they would explode any minute. 'How dare you leave me in this middle of nowhere all alone!'

The man seemed merely bored as he shifted his weight on the ground.

'I'm talking to you here!' shouted Asuka. 'Speak, goddamnit!'

Once again, he showed no sign of noticing her.

'Helloooo! Earth to freak resembling a vampire!' she shouted. His silence was getting on her nerves. She tried to get up, but her legs hurt too badly. She only managed to clumslily sit up.

'Where are we?' she asked.

Nothing but silence.

'You don't happen to occasonaly use your mouth, do you?' she asked.

As always, he did not answer.

'Hey, my hair is on fire!' she shouted desperately.

He did not look up nor did he chuckle. Like a silent specter, he hovered near the fire.

Asuka decided not to speak to him anymore. No use fighting a losing battle, she thought.

Her minds drifted back to the beginning of the day. She was going to school, fought some jerks and her gym teacher got on her nerves again. It was a perfectly normal day, until this thing that held her captive walked silently into her life.

She missed her father, she missed Osaka and she missed the heat she often despised. This frozen forest was definitely not her type of terrain.

She felt good now, thanks to, Asuka's heart sunk when she thought of it, her captor. He did chunk her in the ice, but he did fnd and probably save her life. A small part of her, Asuka thought guiltily, was thankful.

Feeling strong enough to walk again, Asuka stood up and walked to him. He didn't move.

'So, you have a name or something?' she asked him again.

He was again, silent. His cold exterior seemed in tone with the icy world around them. Asuka noticed that he didn't seem bothered by the cold. It was as if it suited him.

'You have anything to eat?'

The words left her mouth before she could think about them. She realized immediately how hungry she was. But it seemed that there was no food whatsoever in this wasteland of death.

But this guy seemed resourceful. Asuka almost gasped as he put his hand in the flames and pulled out some muchrooms on a stick. He quietly gave them to her.

As Asuka took them, she almost choked when his smell of acid overwhealmed her. What was that bloody smell?

'Thanks.' she said politely. She bit into her mushrooms with animalistic vigour. They tasted better than anything her father cooked.

'Good stuff.' she said. It might have been shade shifting from the falmes but Asuka thought she saw the tiniest of smiles form on the man's face.

'So, let's try this again...' she started. 'What is your name?'

'My name is Sergei.' said the man, his voice reverberating through the empty woods.

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**AN: That good enough, Well, a nice enough icebreaker if you're asking me but please review and tell me if I'm right or wrong.**


	4. A Man On A Mission

**AN: Thanks for writing so nicely in your review, so keep em coming. You know I appreciate.

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The silence has been broken. Asuka couldn't believe her ears. The vampire freak had a name and vocal cords.

'Pleased to meet you, Sergei.' said Asuka.

'I am pleased to meet you too.' said Sergei.

'You have a last name or something?' she asked.

'Dragunov.' he said.

'That's not a human name. That's a gun.' she shrieked, a little embarrassed.

'I was raised at an orphanage. They weren't very creative with the names.' he replied, indifference in every syllable.

'I'm sorry.' she said apologeticaly.

'Don't be. It made me a strong person.' he said. 'What is your name?' he asked after a pause.

'Asuka,' she said. Kazama Asuka.' she thought she saw the faintest look of recognition in his eyes.

'It's a beautiful name... but not as beautiful as you..' he said coldly.

'Thank you.' said Asuka as she giggled. All of a sudden, she was in school and he was just another boy. If it wasn't so cold, Asuka would have blushed.

'So, Sergei. Who are you exactly?' asked Asuka.

'I am a SPETZNATZ officer. I work for the Russian government.' he said. 'My mission is to deliver you alive to the unguska millitary research laboratory in Siberia.'

'What would they want with me?' asked Asuka.

Sergei shrugged. 'I don't ask. It's a mission. I do it, no questions.'

'Do you always do missions like this?'

'Always. I go in, extract someone and deliver. It's a routine mission.'

'What happened in the chopper?' Asuka was eager to use Sergei to garner new information as soon as possible.

'We were attacked. I don't know who did it, but it was someone powerful. An avian of sorts.' said Sergei. His voice was quiet, clear, even and accentless. He spoke perfect Japanese. Asuka was surprised.

'Avian?' asked Asuka.

'A bird... or a flying feathered being, which translates loosely as bird.' said Sergei, the corners of his mouth twitching.

'Why save me?' asked Asuka.

'You were precious cargo. The research laboratory wanted you alive. The mission details say that you need to be delivered alive. I always follow orders.' he said.

'But what if you were ordered to kill someone.' she asked, her heart contracting as she anticipated the blood-chilling answer.

'It's not beneath me to end a fellow human's life.' said Sergei. 'But I always try to avoid it when possible. I am not a psycho. I am a soldier.'he said, as if trying to justify killing to her and more importantly, himself.

Asuka felt like she was bitten by something slimy and poisonous. She didn't know what is worse. The fact that he probably had the blood of hundreds of people on his hands, or the matter of fact way in which he was talking about it.

'But... it's inhuman.' said Asuka.

'Wrong.' said Sergei. 'It's the most human thing in the world. End someone's life.' for the first time, Asuka detected the slightest trace of emotion in his voice. It was as if he spoke the words with some sort of mysantropic malice. 'It's so... human.'

'But still...' Asuka realized that there is no way to reason with him. 'You have a family?' she asked.

'No.' his answer was cold and short.

'A girlfriend?' she asked.

'I have no time.' he said. 'My job comes first.'

'Killing and kidnapping people is more important than finding someone to live with?' she asked.

'Yes.' he said. 'Sometimes, we have to do it. Sometimes that's the only thing standing between us and complete global conflict.'

'But why you?' she asked, not sure why she was asking all these questions.

'I have nobody to live for. I am expendable.' he said, his voice getting a metallic feel. 'There are other people who need to live. Other than me.'

'Who would tell you something like that?' she asked.

'I am an orphan. Nobody cares for me.' he shrugged

'That's wrong. You can make a difference.' Asuka was fighting with herself as she said the words to the man who threw her in the freezing woods. 'You saved my life, remember.'

'I do.' he said, calmly.

'Well, doesn't that make you feel better?' she asked again.

'It does. I haven't ever failed a mission. I will not fail now. Your survival was critical to the mission success.' he said mechanically.

'It's all about the job with you, right.' she asked.

'My job is my life. It is.' is voice grew colder.

'So, there is no chance that you would let me go, right.' she asked.

'No.' he said.

'And what will you do?' she asked.

'We were flying near Vladivostok when we fell. I am going to try and locate it. Then I will deliver you personally to the lab.' he said, as if recounting something that he had read.

'So, you're still a bastard.' she said, the little glimmer of hope that she might get away melting away.

'Correction. I am a soldier.' he said. 'I follow orders.'

'Whatever, you bastard.' she said. He didn't respond.

She got up and sat on the other end of the fire.

'What I want to know is, why you bothered to talk to me.' she said abruptly, after a short pause.

'You were bored. Bored people are tough to control.' his answer was cold and professional.

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**AN: Aha, so it has been written. Sergei Dragunov is one sly bastard. To all of you who don't get the gun reference, a Dragunov is a Russian sniper rifle. **


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